Page 53 of Silent Jay

With the next ring, my grandad’s face appeared through the cracks on my screen. “Tukaqu,” I answered, surprised he called instead of using his telepathy. “I didn’t know you could use a phone.”

“Little shit,” Tukaqu said in his ancient, cracked voice. His following words did not come over the phone.Only a few dragons can still use telepathy; those don’t include you. I wanted this to be a two-way conversation.

I took a deep breath at the reminder of my race's decline and forced myself not to look at Jay. We’d have to figure that out. Tukaqu still expected me to pass on my genetics. He was one of the few pure dragon shifters still alive. We needed his blood, my blood, to keep our race strong.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“Family dinner now,” he said. “No excuses. There’s a problem with the Ley Lines. Those idiots at the barriers say it’s just a fluctuation, but it’s not. I can feel it.”

I hesitated, not wanting to leave Jay for even a moment, but duty called. The Ley Lines were our lifeblood.

I frowned. “I’ll be there.”

“And Rehan,” Tukaqu added. “I believe the first disturbance in our magic was the day of The Hunt. Everyone knows you broke the rules and have a human locked away with you. Until we know more, don’t let your tongue wag.”

I growled. “I won’t.”

Tukaqu hung up without saying goodbye, and I stretched my legs. A hint of pleasure still curling my toes despite the pain squeezing my balls. I had no idea a blow job could be that good.

I stood and turned to my mate, only to find her standing and frowning at a blob of water floating in her palm.

“Love, your magic!” I vaulted out of the conversation pit in one bound and wrapped her in my arms.

“Squeak!” She stiffened, and the water ball lost shape, splashing onto her palm. “Squeaking squeak.”

I knew her voice frustrated her, but the more upset she got, the higher the squeaks, and I couldn’t stop my chuckle.

“That was your magic, right?” I brushed my lips across the side of her temple despite the sizzle of pain. “Is the curse just wearing off over time?”

She eyed me like I was crazy before reaching for the phone.

Jay:Curses don’t just wear off.

Jay:And this isn’t my magic, but I can control it.

With a thought, I evaporated the water on her hand back into the air. “Not your magic?”

She pursed her lips.

Jay:I’m not an elemental like you. I can use water in spells but not control it directly. So, this came from somewhere else.

I raised an eyebrow, suddenly very aware of my water affinity.

She cupped my chin and kissed me before typing again.

Jay:Let’s leave it till the morning. I need to think.

I didn’t like it, but if I’d learned one thing about Jay over the last two days—if she didn’t want to talk about something, shewouldn’t. “I’ve been called to a family dinner. I’ll text you my security officer’s number, and he’ll bring you something to eat.”

She nodded, and I put his number on her phone.

Tukaqu's paranoia about the Ley Lines on the day of The Hunt made me frown. It was too much of a coincidence for my magical mate to have nothing to do with it. But I refused to believe she had a malicious bone in her body. Whatever Tukaqu may or may not have felt wasn’t her fault.

I would prove it to my family.

I soon foundmyself seated between my uncle and my little brother in the dining room of the massive Victorian manor house which made up my family estate. Chatter bounced off the rich wood walls decorated with deep blues and silvers.

Tukaqu glared at me from his literal throne at the head of a table, which sat at least twenty, though less than half of the chairs had my direct family in them.

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